Download ps5-host-n16r8.zip from this repository's downloads folder and extract it on your Windows PC. Install Python 3, open PowerShell in the extracted folder, and run:

py -m pip install "esptool>=4.8,<5"
py flash.py --port COM5

Replace COM5 with the board's port from Device Manager. Use a USB data cable. The package contains the complete firmware and website; no Raspberry Pi, Docker, or separate Python web server is needed while the board is running. Only use this image on the ESP32-S3 N16R8 configuration described above.

The screenshot confirms a successful physical-board flash and data verification. Wi-Fi, DHCP and PS5 execution should still be checked after boot using the connection and troubleshooting instructions.

Build from source

Install the official ESP-IDF v5.4.2 toolchain. Open its configured terminal (or source export.sh on Linux). Clone/copy the whole repository, including payloads; this subdirectory is not standalone.

cd firmware/esp32s3
python tools/prepare.py
idf.py set-target esp32s3
idf.py menuconfig
idf.py build
python tools/package.py

Under PS5 offline host, optionally change SSID/password/channel in menuconfig. The defaults configure 16 MB QIO flash and 8 MB octal PSRAM. prepare.py uses the cryptography module supplied by the ESP-IDF Python environment to create the TLS identity. It copies index.html, src, offsets, and these payloads:

elfldr-ps5-1360.elf
kexp_2026_05_25.bin
nanodns.elf
shadowmountplus.elf
kstuff.elf

etaHEN is intentionally not packaged because the current R2 flow does not use it. To change payloads later, change both the source R2 list and PAYLOADS in tools/prepare.py, rerun prepare/build/package, and reflash. Generated site, certificate keys, SDK config, build products and releases are Git-ignored.

The merged image and ZIP are written under dist/. Or flash directly from the ESP-IDF terminal with idf.py -p COM5 flash monitor. The SPIFFS image is included automatically. For an out-of-tree build, pass its directory to tools/package.py.

Flash layout

Partition	Offset	Size
NVS	0x9000	24 KiB
PHY	0xf000	4 KiB
Application	0x10000	3 MiB
Read-only site (SPIFFS)	0x310000	12.94 MiB

SPIFFS uses 128-byte filename fields for nested site paths. Staging rejects missing payloads, invalid ELF magic and excessive total size. Mount errors stop boot rather than formatting away the site. HTTP and HTTPS use different control ports so they can run together. DHCP starts with the AP's network interface; the serial log reports each assigned IP.

Host checks

The DNS parser is independent C and can be tested without a board:

cc -std=c11 -Wall -Wextra -Werror main/dns.c tests/test_dns.c -I main -o /tmp/test-ps5-dns
/tmp/test-ps5-dns

After flashing, verify DHCP, DNS, HTTPS, complete ELF downloads and R2 on physical hardware. A successful compiler build alone cannot verify Wi-Fi range, power, TLS acceptance by a particular PS5 firmware or exploit success.